THE controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) took a fresh turn on Thursday as Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the disputed agency, declared that he is prepared to face the law and clear his name amid allegations of impersonation and forgery levelled against him by the Presidency.
News Point Nigeria reports that Adeyemi’s latest remarks came amid growing public debate over the existence of the agency, following a detailed rebuttal by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who described the organisation as fictitious and accused its purported head of fraudulent misrepresentation.
For months, Adeyemi had made headlines discussing his activities with the agency, while photographs showing him alongside prominent Nigerian figures circulated widely online. However, the Presidency has consistently denied the existence of the organisation and has filed charges against him as the dispute over the agency’s legitimacy intensifies.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Adeyemi insisted that he was lawfully appointed to head the organisation and expressed confidence in the judicial process.
When asked whether he was prepared to face the law, he responded: “Definitely, sir. If I’m wrong, let the court of law do that, and if I’m right, let the court of law do that; do the right thing.”
He also rejected allegations portraying him as a con artist, insisting that the courts would ultimately determine the truth.
“Since the matter is in the court, let the court of competent jurisdiction vindicate me because I’m ready to clear my name,” he said.
“Let the court take its course. Since my lawyers are involved, everybody will follow us. They will monitor the whole thing. Then let the court of competent jurisdiction do what they need to.”
When questioned about the source of funding for salaries paid to staff under the council, Adeyemi declined to provide details, maintaining that the issue was already before the courts.
“The truth will be unravelled at the court of law.
“Mr Seun [host of the programme], I don’t want to talk much about it since the matter is in court. In fact, I’m restricted from talking since the matter is in the courts. So let’s just get to the courts, Ok?” he said.
The controversy escalated after the Presidency publicly disowned the organisation Adeyemi claimed to be leading.
In a statement, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga accused Adeyemi of impersonation and the forgery of official government documents.
“We are aware of the public interest in the matter of a man called Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew, who has been parading himself as the director-general of a fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council cum Presidential Economic Advisory Council,” Onanuga said.
“The case of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a clear case of a con artist who appears to have built a web of false claims to deceive unsuspecting government officials and the public into playing by his scam book. He has a history of fraudulent misrepresentation,” he added.
Responding to the allegations, Adeyemi denied any wrongdoing and accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other senior government officials of attempting to frustrate his activities after he allegedly refused to comply with certain demands.
“The major rationale behind the disagreement between myself and the Chief of Staff is that he allegedly requested 48 per cent of the take-off grant (₦27,395,510,136) from the same agency, which he denies, which I rejected after he collected a total sum of ₦400 million by proxy, with a remaining balance of ₦200 million to secure the said appointment,” Adeyemi claimed.
He subsequently called on President Bola Tinubu to establish an independent investigative panel to examine the allegations and counter-allegations surrounding the matter.
Meanwhile, a search of the Budget Office’s published 2026 Appropriation Bill details under the “Summary by MDAs” reportedly lists an entity described as “Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” with code 0111062001 and a total allocation of ₦1.303 billion.
The allocation comprises ₦802.98 million for personnel costs, ₦200 million for overhead expenditure and ₦300 million for capital expenditure.
Despite this, the Presidency has maintained that the agency is fictitious and has accused Adeyemi of operating multiple bank accounts linked to entities it described as non-existent.
According to the Presidency, police investigations revealed that Adeyemi used forged documents to fraudulently open a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“The Police found that Adeyemi, using the fake documents he created, fraudulently opened a CBN account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. According to the police, no government money has been transferred into the account.
“The act of the suspect constitutes criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, thereby bringing the office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Presidency to disrepute before the public and international community,” the Presidency quoted the police report prepared by Assistant Commissioner of Police Kabir Mogaji as stating.
Onanuga further disclosed that police investigators filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices before the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 27, 2025.
“Based on their investigations, the police filed an eight-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against Adeyemi and two of his accomplices on November 27, 2025. He is due in court on July 27,” Onanuga said.
The presidential spokesman also noted that Adeyemi was on police bail when he recently claimed that the Chief of Staff had appointed him as Director-General of the agency.
“Adeyemi was on police bail when he recently claimed that the Chief of Staff had appointed him as DG of the fictitious agency. This claim contradicted his statement to the police in November last year. His new claim prompted the Chief of Staff, on June 8, to issue a disclaimer consistent with earlier advisories that the man, called Adeyemi, is an imposter,” he added.